Pitmen’s chorus

Last year the call went out for singers to join a ‘Pitmen’s Chorus’.

One of those who responded was second tenor, Neil Frankland.

Neil ended up onstage at the Lawrence Batley Theatre performing in

‘Wasteland’, Gary Clarke’s trenchant play about the aftermath of coal

closures on Northern Communities.

https://youtu.be/2tUxK7pDq7I

Well, the choir has been called back into action,

during these times of isolation and lockdown.

Working from their own bedrooms and living rooms,

they have produced a fine version - both poignant

and defiant - of the old anthem, Gresford, by

Robert Saint - sometimes called, ‘The Miners’

Hymn’.

Members of Carleton Main Frickley Colliery Band

accompany the men.

Well done chaps and well done Neil. The video is

an example of what male voice choirs might do

even in times when we still can’t get together to

sing.

Robert Saint and ‘the miners’ hymn’

Born in November 1905, Saint came from a family of miners, including his father, whom he joined

working in an accident-prone mine at Hebburn, Tyne and Wear, at the age of 14 after leaving

school.

While working there, he campaigned for lower hours and better treatment of pit ponies; the small

horses used in mines at that time. Saint was employed as a "putter", working the carts around the

mine until its closure in 1932.

This left him unemployed in the era of the Great Depression though Saint also earned money by

giving music lessons and performing in a dance orchestra. He also formed his own band, the

Kensington Dance Orchestra, which he led on saxophone.

When Saint learned of the Gresford mining disaster in

1934 it had a lasting impression on him. In response, he

composed "Gresford", which his biographer, Robert

Colls, described as a tune "giving mining communities

something to say at the end".

The next year, he joined the Royal Northumberland

Fusiliers as an army bandsman, playing the trombone.

Saint's composition for the Gresford disaster was first

performed publicly in 1938, during the Durham Miners

Gala. All of the royalties he gained from "Gresford" were

donated to the National Union of Mineworkers.

Saint was discharged from service for medical reasons in

1939, and took up a brief job as a labourmen in a

shipyard. In 1940, he met a representative for a charity

known as The National Equine (and Smaller Animals)

Defence League.

Relating his own experiences campaigning for pit ponies, Saint became an inspector for the

League and drove an animal ambulance by 1946. He eventually became a regional organizer for

the group.

After his initial recruitment, the League gave Saint an animal refuge, which was simply a shed in

his backyard with kennels and veterinary equipment. Saint became known to locals as "the poor

people's vet", and would humanely euthanize sick and dying pets upon request, free of charge.

Zoom rehearsals started

And now, Colne Valley Male Voice Choir has started on rehearsals via Zoom. Up to now Thom

and Chris have been providing vocal exercises via training videos on the ‘Members Only’ section

of the Choir’s website.

But now there are opportunities to sing with fellow members via Zoom.

An introductory session was held last week and sectional rehearsal will take place - at the usual

Choir rehearsal time - on Monday Nights.

Choir secretary, Jenny will keep members abreast of joining instructions.

Thom writes.....

Dear Men,

Firstly, and most importantly, I hope you

are all well and that you and your loved

ones have not been affected by the

terrible consequences that the

CoronaVirus has brought to so many

families across the world.

Secondly, I hope that the musical

offerings that Chris and I have been

producing (now all on the members area

of the CVMVC website thanks to James

Cooke) have enabled you to keep

enjoying your singing - despite the fact

that it is in isolation rather than with the

full choir.

The reason for this message is to let you

know that we would like to trial some

'online rehearsals'. These have been

experimented with by many choirs over

recent weeks and, while they will never

replace 'the real thing', they have been

valued by choristers as a means of

maintaining their choral progress and

preparing for a time in the hopefully not

too distant future, when everyone can

meet together again.

If you haven’t used ZOOM before, you will need to download the App (available from the ZOOM

website https://zoom.us/download ) and ensure that the device you are using has a camera and a

microphone - if you haven’t got these, you can purchase a webcam with a microphone and fix that

to the top of your screen - it works just as well.

Here are the times: a reminder to Choir members

Monday 29th June, 7.30 - 8.00pm - FIRST TENORS rehearsal (then rehearse at the same time at

two week intervals)

Monday 29th June, 8.15 - 8.45pm - BARITONES rehearsal (then rehearse at two week intervals)

Monday 6th July, 7.30 - 8.00pm - SECOND TENORS rehearsal (then rehearse at two week

intervals)

Monday 6th July 8.15 - 8.45pm - BASSES rehearsal (then rehearse at two week intervals)

Best wishes and I look forward to seeing you on Mondays!

Thom

Corona Bookshelf

follow up

The last edition featured this clever picture,

where the titles of the books give you the story

of corona virus.

Well VotV reader

Carole Shaw got in

touch straightaway.

Did I know that the

anonymous artwork

was actually the

brainchild of her brother

in law?

She writes, ‘I had quite a shock when I saw your bookcase picture in Voice of the Valley. You see

I recognised it straightaway. It's a limited edition print, made by my brother in law, Phil Shaw.

He’s from Huddersfield, but now lives in London’.

Carole is associated with Slaithwaite family firm, ‘Shaw Bros Door

and Window Systems’ who have specialised for the last four

decades in the design and manufacture of commercial aluminium

architectural façade systems.

‘If you google Phil Shaw artist,’ she tells VotV, ‘You can see what

he does. Phil posted it on his Instagram, it somehow ended up on

Facebook and pretty much went viral!

I'll tell Phil he's in the latest edition of Voice of the Valley.’

Replied VotV Editor: ‘I wouldn't have used it - uncredited - had I known its origins. When you tell

him, let him know it was inadvertent, would you, Carole?’

Since then, your editor - a ‘comer-in’ just 40 years in the Huddersfield area - has learnt a number

of fascinating things about one of its prominent artists.’

Phil Shaw is a ground-breaking British digital-printmaker, author and former professor of

printmaking at Middlesex University.

Raised in Huddersfield Phil went to Rawthorpe High School and the

Art school at Huddersfield College before moving on to build his artistic

skills in London’s Royal College of Art.

He is best known - except of course to your editor - for his distinctive

'bookshelf' prints. Intrigued by the possibility that things may not be

what they appear to be, Shaw's bookshelves depict books arranged in a way that lead you to

make unexpected connections and new dynamics.

In 2012 he was chosen by the Prime Minister, David Cameron, to create a special print to be given

to the various world-leaders who attended the G8 Summit in the UK. As a result, his work is held

in the Elysee Palace, the Whitehouse, Downing Street, the Kremlin, as well as numerous

public institutions and museums in the UK and USA.

Phil Shaw with his children, Florence and Arthur in 2014. Carole must be their aunt. Photo:Huddersfield Examiner

To find out more about Phil, follow this link: https://www.rebeccahossack.com/artists/72-phil-shaw/overview/

Music shut down - It ain’t necessarily so

Xiana Harron, is yet another jewel who has

teamed up with Colne Valley Male Voice Choir’s

accompanist Chris Pulleyn. Chris - undaunted by

lockdown - has been keeping music alive locally

with his & Piano productions. More power to his

elbow! And more power, too, to the elbow - and

the bow - of wonderfully talented Greenhead

College student, Xiana, who joins Chris in this

flamboyant arrangement of George Gershwin's 'It

Ain't Necessarily So' from his opera, Porgy &

Bess.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VT1KL9XkXI8

Xiana currently studies A Levels at Greenhead

College. She recently won the Rotary Young

Musician of the Year in Halifax and hopes to go on

to study Violin at a music conservatoire

somewhere on mainland Europe!

&Piano has just launched its new ‘Friends Scheme - ‘88 Keys’

Says Chris... “It’s a way for followers of the Festival to support us even more, by sponsoring a key

on our special ‘&Piano’ piano! A traditional piano has 88 keys, and so we’re offering them all to

be sponsored for an annual donation from just £10.

We want to be a music festival for everyone, so we do not want to ask for large donations.

However, a small contribution can go a really long way to helping us offer a wider range of

accessible & innovative events, in our aims to encourage more people to enjoy & experience

amazing live music.”

This link will take you to the & Piano 88 keys scheme. https://andpiano.co.uk/88-keys/

Another one of Brian’s tall tales

Bass, Brian Fairclough, has been entertaining VotV readers with tales of his notorious Father in law, John Akers. Brian reckons this next tale is just as true. Like his last story it’s food-based - clearly a topic quite close to Brian’s heart.

Meat ‘n Potato Pie

Let me set the scene of this tale. I worked at the time for St Helens MBC. There is a long Street

which runs East/West through the centre of town, called Hardshaw Street.

It starts in the east in the middle of traditional brick built terraced properties with the odd shop, and

then runs towards the Town Hall, across Victoria Square, and through the commercial, banking,

leisure and shopping outlets as it dissects the town. I would guess, that from top to bottom it is

maybe three quarters of a mile long.

One day as I went for my lunch in the Town Hall canteen, I saw my Mother in law scuttling down

Hardshaw Street to the bank. She rarely got out, and I simply cannot remember when she last went

out alone. She looked a little startled as I said “Hello” and told me she was nipping to the Bank

(actually she was banking her turkey money!).

“So where is the big man?” I asked. “Oh he does not like driving right into town, because there is

too much traffic. He is parked up at the top of Hardshaw Street” I bade her goodbye and left her on

the run to the Bank.

My Father in Law had made my Mother in law walk all the way into town. So I thought I would

walk up Hardshaw Street to say hello and to pull his leg.

As I got near to the top of the Street, I saw his

Ford Escort parked outside a local small shop.

Inside the car, quite oblivious to my arrival, I saw

my father in law. He had a huge meat and potato

pie in both hands and he was gobbling it down, as

quickly as he could.

I banged my fist on the roof of his car. It caused

pandemonium inside that little Ford Escort. The remnants of the pie crumbled in his big hands and

flew all over the inside of the car, as panic took over from the enjoyment of a warm pie.

He spotted me laughing. “Keerrist! We’eer ‘as thy cum from?” he said gathering the bits of

scattered pie to remove any ‘evidence’ by the most expeditious means i.e. eating it.

“Why do you park so far out of town?” I asked. “Well, I tells the missus that I am feard of driving

into town. But ah tell thi I allus parks here. Does’t see that shop?” he said pointing to a bakery.

“They make the best pies in town, so I sends t’missus to the Bank and while she is away I gets misell

a bloody big pie. They are gorgeous. ‘Er doesn’t kno’ tha knows. Hey don’t tell ‘er!”

“Why not? What’s the big secret?”

“Well” he replied, “When ah get wom her’ll get me lunch! Burriff she finds out about the pie

ahll get nowt”

Plague hits Hepworth – again

Each year, on the last Monday in June, the village of Hepworth near Holmfirth hosts its annual

Feast. The Feast marks the end of the Great Plague in 1665: the village is reputedly the most

northerly place the disease reached, having been carried on cloth bought from London.

The plague divided Hepworth in two. In the ultimate act of social distancing, those infected isolated

in one half of the village, helping to keep the rest of the villagers safe. Thirteen people lost their

lives.

This traditional local event is a popular local gathering, involving an afternoon procession

accompanied by Hepworth Brass Band and an evening village centre celebration.

Almost four centuries later, Coronavirus has seen the return of a need to distance ourselves, and

has led to the cancellation of this year’s Feast.

Hepworth Brass Band don’t want the occasion to pass by unmarked. It’s been a big year for this

Championship section band, formed back in 1882 and now one of the finest Brass Bands in the

world. In their last outing they qualified to represent Yorkshire at the National Brass Band

Championship finals, due to take place at the Royal Albert Hall in October this year. Since then,

they haven’t been able to play together due to social distancing guidelines.

On the 13th June six of the young, talented soloists from the band played their first notes together

since qualification at the beginning of March.

However, this time they socially distanced!

They performed the bandsman’s hymn, “Deep Harmony” live in the beautiful, historic setting of

nearby Wooldale Hall, in a bid to give something back to their local community.

This is also an

important fundraising

opportunity. Money

raised will be used to

fund the broadcasting

of a series of online

concerts to the

community as well as

essential changes

required to their

bandroom to allow

them to return to

rehearsals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogEsJOu3pJI&feature=emb_logo

Colne Valley Men wish them all the best

Colne Valley Male Voice Choir have performed with this fine band on several occasions - and

look forward to doing so again when these dreadful times are over.

The picture above from 2008

includes two happy-looking

Colne Valley members in the

background - the late and

still much missed Philip

Baxter, CVMVC Deputy

Accompanist & Conductor

and sometime CVMVC

Chairman, Peter Denby

The other shows a happy

crowd basking in the

sunshine at an open-air

concert at Belton.

200 Club winner

“Hi everyone, writes Choir secretary, Jenny Baxter:-

The winner of the 200 Club draw this week is a member of the Second Tenors - Peter Hatton.'

The Editor adds: 'Might be just 45 quid but Peter is

celebrating.

Actually the photo shows Peter celebrating his Golden

Wedding Anniversary - but it probably looked much like

this, ‘Chez Hatton’, when the 200 Club news arrived.

I hope he did break out the champagne!

Do think about getting a 200 CLUB number. The scheme

helps keep us afloat in these troubled times.’

'Hope you are all in good spirits' she continues, 'and looking forward to the Zoom meetings.

This is the next step in returning to some semblance of normality in choir rehearsals. Hope all

goes well and you enjoy “meeting” your fellow choristers.

Kind regards'

Jenny

Well it made me smile ....

.... and smile again ....

Enjoy a boogiewoogie fest

Various stunningly good boogiewoogie players feature on this clip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDMMCW0eaTs&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR3u

DQRpqeV9qaEUo3jFPTkRgO9T5uJriHSRlY5kFsmArtqoTbqLEshmkMU

Could have, should have....

We hoped ...

... we’d be singing at

Halifax Minster last

Saturday ....

.... and again on the Rugby Ground at Salendine Nook next Saturday.

Ah well, better days will come.

Our home village still looking good ....

Picture: John Ellis

Send me a picture, tell me your news....

At this time of social isolation, VotV readers, whether singers or audience-members, can no longer

meet each other.

But we can keep in touch.

Let the VotV Editor know if something happens to

you, that might be of interest and has some -

connection - however tenuous - to the Choir.

Doesn’t matter if you are not very confident

writing, I’ll help you put into publishable shape.

Voice of the Valley Editor: John C Clark

Ring Choir Secretary, Jenny, on 01484 645192 to join us or join our Readers’ List or for other

queries

And see our website to get the full story

colnevalleymvc.org.uk